I've not left more than one or two of these lures behind, and only then simply because I couldn't wrest them free from the bottom. I've never left one hanging somewhere in the open.
Until last Saturday's tournament, I always had been like the vast number of other anglers who routinely fish a Buzzjet Jr. with a steady retrieve, which yields a wide-wobbling action. As I learned entirely by accident that day, however, there's a slower, more suspenseful, more exciting, and often more productive way to fish this lure. That method is with a pop and pause for a lingering moment between each pop.
Using this pop-and-pause retrieve, most hits come during the pause or within the first few pops after the lure splashes down. Many hits also will come the instant it splashes down on the surface, before you even get a chance to take a turn on the reel handle. For this reason, it pays not to be in a hurry to start your retrieve. Just let it sit and soak for up to 10 or 15 seconds before moving it.
Once you begin the retrieve, pop and pause the bait all the way back to the boat, exactly as if using a traditional dish-faced popper. Be prepared for a blast at any moment. Last Saturday, for example, I had worked the Buzzjet Jr. back to within 3 or 4 feet of the boat and was lightly popping and pausing it there beside the boat to watch the action, when out of nowhere, a bass knocked the fire out of it...not once, but twice, because he missed it on the first pass.
Although these Deps lures, including the BJ Jr., the Buzzjet 96, and Spiral Minnow, don't have a cupped mouth like a traditional popper, the upper-jaw and lower-lip juncture forms a wide vee-shaped slot that throws a mouthful of water and creates a loud splashing noise when you pop one. You can pop the bait softly or forcefully to make it chug loudly, and because these are all propbaits, you even can rip one harder than is possible with a traditional popper.
Given the water pressure against the lip, these lures also will roll, flash their broad sides, and wake whenever crawled a few feet between pops...another action that isn't possible with a traditional popper. So you get the splashing action of a popper or chugger, the action of a proptail, plus the rolling, waking side-flashing action of a lipped surface crawler...all in one bait.
There's yet another triggering action, too. All three of these Deps lures have an internal rumble strip and a large rattle bead inside that rolls forward when you pop it, and then when you pause it, the bead rumbles back down the rumble strip toward the tail, causing the bait to move tail down, flashing its proptail below the surface.
When spot-casting to specific, fish-holding cover features, you may rely on using lighter pops. When blind-fishing broad expanses of featureless flats, open water, or wherever bass may be scattered, you always should mix in some loud chugs and forceful rips to call bass from quite a distance. Popping these Deps lures is a slow approach, so you're not moving one very far or very fast. You accordingly can use the loud chugging sound and long pause to give roaming or resting fish enough time to find their way to the struggling surface commotion.
Since many bass will hit a popped Deps lure during the pause, you may see a blow-up on the bait but feel nothing in your rod or line. Smart anglers wait until they feel the weight of the fish to set the hook. Otherwise, you'll miss more fish than your hook.
Smart anglers also should replace the No. 6 hooks that come on a Buzzjet Jr. right out of the box with a high-quality brand No. 4 treble, such as an Owner, Gamakatsu or Mustad.
Have had occasions when this bait worked all day long, in bright sun, as well as heavy overcast. One thing is certain: You could make a far worse choice.
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